Seattle

After 2000 km of cycling I figured I was allowed to put away the bike and rent a car for the last two weeks of my trip so could cover just a bit more ground. So once I got to Seattle I picked up my rental car and threw my bike in the trunk. I did a quick sightseeing trip of the city, hitting the main attractions: the pike place market and space needle.

I cut the rest of my exploration of Seattle a bit short though. My birthday was coming up and I decided I wanted to spend it in my favorite place in canada: Squamish. Where the weather was sunny, the wind was blowing (so kite surfing was happening) and the people are (sq)awesome.

Thanx to all you guys (and girls) for the memorable 30th birthday!

Cheers!

grtz

Leen

Ukee (and a little bit of Tofino)

So I took the bus to ucluelet , meaning I spent a day on a bus crossing heading to the west coast of the island. Since the road got quite narrow and it was raining all day I was glad to be dry and not on my bike.  Once I got to ukee and dragged my big, clumsy plastic bag through the rain, I got to a lovely hostel with some great garden views (once the rain had stopped by the next morning)

Ukee turned out to be a great, quiet little coast town with amazing views of the ocean, cliffs, beaches and rainforest along the coast line.

 

After the few days I spent discovering these two little surf towns, it was time to head back to Victoria and catch the ferry to the city of Seattle in the USA.

Before I left I did stop by fisherman’s warf in Victoria for some food, funky floating houses and seals.

Until the next…

grtz

Leen

Coming full circle

Hi guys

I eventually managed to make myself leave Squamish (with pain in my heart). I just fell in love with that place and the people I met there. If I had to make a top ten of places I’ve visited that I wouldn’t mind living in for a while, Squamish would definitely be at the top. Unfortunately, the clock on my holiday is running out and I had to get back on the road again. So I cycled the rest of the way back to Vancouver, where I crashed on the couch of some people I met on the first time through the city (thanx again guys!). The last bit of the “sea to sky”-highway  was just as beautiful as the rest of it.

 

I didn’t do much there before heading on to Vancouver Island, but I did discover a lovely little peace o home just down the street from their place.

I cycled the very boring and confusing road to the tsawassan ferry terminal for my crossing to Victoria on Vancouver Island (getting out of vancouver on your bike over bridges or through tunnels is not easy). I got to take a relaxing cruise by the various gulf islands on this grey sky day (the weather does seem to have changed a little since september started, but then as I’m writing this the sun is shining again.)

I did some quick sightseeing here in victoria, with the highlight definitely being the whale watching tour. It was like a real life version of Free Willy 2 ;-). (I’ve got some video of the killer whales or orkas, but I don’t have the time to upload it here) I did get some nice pictures of the seals and sea lions as well though.

 

Anyway, i’m leaving my bike behind in Victoria for a couple of days as I head up north by bus to the towns of Ucluelet (Ukee for the locals) and Tofino.

Until the next…

grtz

Leen

 

Squamish! (woohoo)

Hey guys!

So I left whistler and headed down to the town of squamish.

Just a short 60 km down the road and basically I’ve been hanging out here ever since. I was supposed to stay only 2 days, but I’ve ended up extending my stay (again).You see, the amazing town of squamish is located just 45 min driving away from Vancouver (by car, not bike!) and it pretty much offers every possible outdoor activity. Among these activities: KITESURFING!

When I arrived they were holding a national kiteboarding contest in this world renowned spot: Kite Clash 2016. So I got to watch the Big Air contest and a few days later got to kite in this amazing spot between the mountains myself.

In addition, Squamish is also home of ” the chief” a massive cliff, famous for rock climbng and offering several hikes that function as a natural stairmaster. From these cliffs you have amazing views of the lovely town of squamish and its surroundings.

the view from my hostel home and some cool stuff from the town

Finally, Squamish is also the place of my first (and hopefully only) flat tire. No worries, I fixed it, though, so I should be able to get back to Vancouver without a problem. (that’s assuming I can convince myself to leave this place 😉 ). Which will mean I’ll have come full circle.

Until the next!

grtz Leen